On This Day, June 24, 1995…

After Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder got sick with a stomach flu, rocker Neil Young stepped in to headline the Seattle band’s concert at the Polo Fields at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California.

Vedder performed about seven songs before he told the crowd he was sick, introducing Young, who then performed with the rest of the band.

Young treated the crowd to such classic tunes as "The Needle and the Damage Done," "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)," "Down by the River," "Cortez the Killer" and more, wrapping the show with his iconic hit "Rockin’ in the Free World."

The concert happened a few days before Young and Pearl Jam released the collaborative album Mirror Ball, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. That December, Pearl Jam released the EP Merkin Ball featuring two songs recorded with Young, that were left off of Mirror Ball.

In October 2025, Young reissued Mirror Ball as part of his Official Release Series Volume 6, along with three other albums. In May, he reissued it as a standalone CD and vinyl.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.